Pencil



C. A. SMITH Oct. 25 1927.

PENC IL Filed June 5, 1926 INVzNTm; cfiarzes 02 57ml! JWW Patented Oct. 25, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,647,05a PATENT oFFics CHARLES A. SMITH, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PENCIL.

Application filed June 3,

My invention'relates to new and useful improvements in pencils, and more particularly to that class of pencils known as au' tomatic ones, and has for its primary object to improve and simplify the constructton thereof so as to provide aclosurewhich will be inexpensive in the cost. of manutacture, although strong and durable and e1.- fective in operation. j

Another object of the invention 1s to so construct the barrel of the pencil as to provide asquare bore so that any one of the four corners may receive a projection trom the lead holder to prevent rotation thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a helical coil propelling element constructed from untempered iron or simi-.

lar material so as to springing thereof. 1

A still further object of'the invention is to provide a pencil sharpener l11'COI111111Ct101] with the other parts so that should the point of the lead breakofi, it may be resharpened.

Another object of the invention 1s to-provide a simple and unique means for replac ing one lead with another;

lVith these and other ends in .view, this prevent lengthwise invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically desig' which this invention appertains, may under-" stand how to make and use the'same, will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1, is a longitudinal sectional view of a pencil constructed in accordance with my invention with portions left in elevation to illustrate certain details of construction.

Fig. 2, is a transverse sectional view of the barrel.

Fig. 3, is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4, is an end View of the lead holder.

Fig. 5, is a side elevation thereot.

Fig. 6, is an end view of the pencil sharpener.

Fig. 7, is a side elevation of the same.

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied, 10 represents the barrel of a pencil which may be constructed of wood, metal or other suitable material, and so fashioned as to provide a bore 11, square 1926. Serial No. 113,375.

in cross section, thereby providing four corners, in any one of which will slide the lug 12, projecting from the leadholder 13., By constructing the barrel in this manner, it is unnecessary to position the lead holder in any one particular position. v j

The lead holder is preferably made from a longitudinally split tube, thereby providing a gripping end 14; to receive and hold the lead 15, while above the gripping portion, two sections of the metal are partially cut from the lead holder and bent inward to provide two spring stops 16, the free ends of which overlie the upper end of said grip ping portion and engage an end of the lead topgevent the same t'rom being pushed inwarc.

The lead holder is longitudinally movable within the hellical actuator 17, which is coiled from the untempered strip of ribbon or iron or other suitable metal so as to have practically no longitudinal flexibility, and the coils of this actuator provide a convolute slot 18 into which projects the lug 12 of the lead carrier, and when the actuator is re volved, said lead carrier will be moved longitudinally thereof. The actuator is located within the' bore of the barrel, and has its upper end secured to a collar 19 revolvably mounted inthe upper end of said barrel,'and secured against endwise movement in any well-known manner, as for instance, the end of the barrel may be turned into a groove in the collar. v

By eliminating or reducing to a minimum any flexibility in the actuator, the lead when in use is held substantially as firm as when fixed in the body of the pencil. x

In order to revolve the collar, I-provide a cap 20 having spring prongs 21 which will frictionally grip the collar when the cap is placed thereon, and the exterior of said cap may be knurled, as at 22 to assist the user firmly grasping said cap. Projecting inwardly from the center of the top wall of the cap is a pencil sharpener 23, which has a longitudinal slot24 so that a blade 25 may be formed from one edge, while the slot permits the passage of the particles of material removed from the lead bein sharpened, and from the inner end of the s arpener projects a pusher 26 to engage a lead for pushing it into the lead holder.

When it is desirable to remove a lead. and replace it by another, the parts are actuated until the lead holder 13 is moved up to the top of the pencil, and after the removal of the cap, a new lead may be inserted in the upper end of the pencil and pro-.

jec-ted into the lead holder forcing out the stub of the old one, it such stub remains. The new lead is pushed in as far as possible, and then the pusher 26 is brought into engagement with the upper end of said lead and the latter may then be pushed inward until its end passes the free ends of the spring tongues 16 which will occur just as the cap is brought into its operative po-.

sition. The pencil is now ready for use, and by revolving the cap in the proper direction the lead holder will be moved downwardly until said lead projects the desired distance from the lower end of the pencil, and said lower end of the pencil may be tapered, as indicated at 27. Should the point of the lead break 05, it may be re-sharpened by removing the cap and forcing the latter over the projecting end of the lead until the latter enters the sharpener, and then by revolving the sharpener in the usual manner, the desired point will be formed upon the lead.

By making the actuator of untempered iron it has practically no longitudinal flexibility, therefore the lead will not be forced back into the pencil barrel during writing operations.

Because of the square bore in the barrel of the pencil, the assembling operations may be quickly accomplished for when the parts are inserted in the barrel, it requires less than a quarter of a turn in one direction or the other to bring the lug 1.2 into registration with one of the corners.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction as herein shown as these may be varied within the limits of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is:

1. A pencil comprising a barrel having a bore square in cross section; a helical actuator revolvably mounted within the bore of said barrel; a lead holder within the actuator; means carried by said holder for cooperation with the actuator to move the lead holder longitudinally, said means also engaging one of the corners of the bore to prevent rotation of said lead holder; means to prevent retrograde movement of a lead relative to the holder after being relatively positioned; a collar connected with the actuator for revolving the latter; and a cap removably mounted upon the collar; said cap being so constructed that when removed, it can be used as a pencil sharpener.

2. A pencil including a barrel open at both ends; a lead holder within the barrel, also open at both ends to permit insertion of a lead through the upper end of the barrel into the lead holder; means on said lead holder to prevent upward movement of the lead after being operatively positioned; means to prevent rotation of the lead holder; and means to move said lead holder longitudinally within the barrel.

3. A pencil including a barrel open at both ends; a lead holder within the barrel, also open at both ends to permit insertion of a lead through the upper end of the barrel into the lead holder; means on said lead holder to prevent upward movement of the lead after being operatively positioned; means to prevent rotation of the lead holder; means to move said lead holder longitudinally within the barrel; a collar connected with the mans for moving the lead holder; a cap removably mounted upon the collar; said cap being so constructed that when removed it can be used as a pencil sharpener; and a pusher depending from the inner end of the cap for engagement with a lead to push the same through the lead holder when the latter is in its uppermost position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto atfixed my signature.

CHARLES A. SMITH. 

